Interactive content system and method

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed to a system and method of providing interactive content. The method can include receiving a video signal from a first source of a television system, where the video signal includes video content but does not include data relating to an interactive application. The method can also include retrieving an interactive application from a second source of the television system.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to providing interactivecontent.

BACKGROUND

Interactive television enables a viewer to exchange information via atelevision, and thus enjoy an interactive viewing experience.Interactive television systems traditionally indicate an availability ofinteractive content within a television signal. When the televisionsignal is received and the indication of interactive content detected,an icon is typically displayed on a viewer's display to indicate theavailable interactive content. The icon may be selected via a remotecontrol to launch the interactive application.

Encoding the indication of the interactive content via the video signalintroduces additional processing and complexity to the function ofsending the video signal. Furthermore, requiring the encoding for eachinteractive application into the video signal may create a bottleneck todeveloping and distributing new interactive applications.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of an InternetProtocol Television (IPTV) system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a system havinga set-top box;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a method ofreceiving interactive content;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an embodiment of a graphical user interface;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an embodiment of a general computer system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In one embodiment, a method of receiving interactive content isdisclosed. The method includes receiving a video signal from a firstsource of a television system, where the video signal includes videocontent but does not include data relating to an interactiveapplication. The method also includes providing the video content to adisplay device and retrieving an interactive application from a secondsource of the television system.

In another embodiment, a user interface is disclosed. The user interfaceincludes a first display region to display video content received from atelevision system via a television channel and a second display regionto display a prioritized menu of available interactive applications.

In another embodiment, a set-top box is disclosed. The set-top boxincludes a memory device accessible to a processor, a network interfaceto communicate with a source of content, a display interface tocommunicate with a display device, and a buffer to receive video contentfrom the source of content via the network interface. The set-top boxalso includes an interactive application module to provide an indicationof available interactive applications via the display interface inresponse to receiving a first user request.

Referring to FIG. 1, an illustrative embodiment of an Internet ProtocolTelevision (IPTV) system that may be used to share private content isillustrated and is generally designated 100. As shown, the system 100can include a client facing tier 102, an application tier 104, anacquisition tier 106, and an operations and management tier 108. Eachtier 102, 104, 106, 108 is coupled to a private network 110; to a publicnetwork 112, such as the Internet; or to both the private network 110and the public network 112. For example, the client-facing tier 102 canbe coupled to the private network 110. Further, the application tier 104can be coupled to the private network 110 and to the public network 112.The acquisition tier 106 can also be coupled to the private network 110and to the public network 112. Additionally, the operations andmanagement tier 108 can be coupled to the public network 112.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the various tiers 102, 104, 106, 108communicate with each other via the private network 110 and the publicnetwork 112. For instance, the client-facing tier 102 can communicatewith the application tier 104 and the acquisition tier 106 via theprivate network 110. The application tier 104 can communicate with theacquisition tier 106 via the private network 110. Further, theapplication tier 104 can communicate with the acquisition tier 106 andthe operations and management tier 108 via the public network 112.Moreover, the acquisition tier 106 can communicate with the operationsand management tier 108 via the public network 112. In a particularembodiment, elements of the application tier 104, including, but notlimited to, a client gateway 150, can communicate directly with theclient-facing tier 102.

The client-facing tier 102 can communicate with user equipment via anaccess network 166, such as an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV)access network. In an illustrative embodiment, customer premisesequipment (CPE) 114, 122 can be coupled to a local switch, router, orother device of the access network 166. The client-facing tier 102 cancommunicate with a first representative set-top box device 116 at afirst customer premise via the first CPE 114 and with a secondrepresentative set-top box device 124 at a second customer premise viathe second CPE 122. The CPE 114, 122 can include routers, local areanetwork devices, modems, such as digital subscriber line (DSL) modems,any other suitable devices for facilitating communication between aset-top box device and the access network 166, or any combinationthereof.

In a particular embodiment, the client-facing tier 102 can be coupled tothe CPE 114, 122 via fiber optic cables. Alternatively, the CPE 114, 122can be digital subscriber line (DSL) modems that are coupled to one ormore network nodes via twisted pairs, and the client-facing tier 102 canbe coupled to the network nodes via fiber-optic cables. Each set-top boxdevice 116, 124 can process data received via the access network 166,via an IPTV software platform, such as Microsoft® TV IPTV Edition.

The first set-top box device 116 can be coupled to a first externaldisplay device, such as a first television monitor 118, and the secondset-top box device 124 can be coupled to a second external displaydevice, such as a second television monitor 126. Moreover, the firstset-top box device 116 can communicate with a first remote control 120,and the second set-top box device 124 can communicate with a secondremote control 128. The set-top box devices 116, 124 can include IPTVset-top box devices; video gaming devices or consoles that are adaptedto receive IPTV content; personal computers or other computing devicesthat are adapted to emulate set-top box device functionalities; anyother device adapted to receive IPTV content and transmit data to anIPTV system via an access network; or any combination thereof.

In an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment, each set-top box device 116,124 can receive data, video, or any combination thereof, from theclient-facing tier 102 via the access network 166 and render or displaythe data, video, or any combination thereof, at the display device 118,126 to which it is coupled. In an illustrative embodiment, the set-topbox devices 116, 124 can include tuners that receive and decodetelevision programming signals or packet streams for transmission to thedisplay devices 118, 126. Further, the set-top box devices 116, 124 caninclude a set-top box (STB) processor 170 and a STB memory device 172that is accessible to the STB processor 170. In one embodiment, acomputer program, such as the STB computer program 174, can be embeddedwithin the STB memory device 172. In another illustrative embodiment, auser computing device 184, such as a personal computer, laptop or localserver, can be coupled to a set-top box device, such as the secondrepresentative set-top box device 124, for example, via a universalserial bus (USB) connection or other connection.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 102 can include aclient-facing tier (CFT) switch 130 that manages communication betweenthe client-facing tier 102 and the access network 166 and between theclient-facing tier 102 and the private network 110. As illustrated, theCFT switch 130 is coupled to one or more data servers, such as D-servers132, that store, format, encode, replicate, or otherwise manipulate orprepare video content for communication from the client-facing tier 102to the set-top box devices 116, 124. The CFT switch 130 can also becoupled to a terminal server 134 that provides terminal devices with aconnection point to the private network 110. In a particular embodiment,the CFT switch 130 can be coupled to a video-on-demand (VOD) server 136that stores or provides VOD content imported by the IPTV system 100.

In an illustrative embodiment, the client-facing tier 102 cancommunicate with a large number of set-top boxes, such as therepresentative set-top boxes 116, 124 over a wide geographic area, suchas a regional area, a metropolitan area, a viewing area, a designatedmarket area or any other suitable geographic area, market area, orsubscriber or customer group that can be supported by networking theclient-facing tier 102 to numerous set-top box devices. In a particularembodiment, the CFT switch 130, or any portion thereof, can include amulticast router or switch that feeds one or more video streams from avideo server to multiple set-top box devices.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the application tier 104 can communicate withboth the private network 110 and the public network 112. The applicationtier 104 can include a first application tier (APP) switch 138 and asecond APP switch 140. In a particular embodiment, the first APP switch138 can be coupled to the second APP switch 140. The first APP switch138 can be coupled to an application server 142 and to an OSS/BSSgateway 144. In a particular embodiment, the application server 142 canprovide applications to the set-top box devices 116, 124 via the accessnetwork 166, which enable the set-top box devices 116, 124 to providefunctions, such as display, messaging, processing of IPTV data and VODmaterial, etc. In a particular embodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 144includes operation systems and support (OSS) data, as well as billingsystems and support (BSS) data. In one embodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway144 can provide or restrict access to an OSS/BSS server 164 that storesoperations and billing systems data.

The second APP switch 140 can be coupled to a domain controller 146 thatprovides Internet access, for example, to users at their computers 168via the public network 112. For example, the domain controller 146 canprovide remote Internet access to IPTV account information, e-mail,personalized Internet services, or other online services via the publicnetwork 112. In addition, the second APP switch 140 can be coupled to asubscriber and system store 148 that includes account information, suchas account information that is associated with users who access the IPTVsystem 100 via the private network 110 or the public network 112. In anillustrative embodiment, the subscriber and system store 148 can storesubscriber or customer data and create subscriber or customer profilesthat are associated with IP addresses of corresponding set-top boxdevices 116, 124.

In a particular embodiment, the application tier 104 can include aclient gateway 150 that communicates data directly to the client-facingtier 102. In this embodiment, the client gateway 150 can be coupleddirectly to the CFT switch 130. The client gateway 150 can provide useraccess to the private network 110 and the tiers coupled thereto. In anillustrative embodiment, the set-top box devices 116, 124 can access theIPTV system 100 via the access network 166, using information receivedfrom the client gateway 150. User devices can access the client gateway150 via the access network 166, and the client gateway 150 can allowsuch devices to access the private network 110 once the devices areauthenticated or verified. Similarly, the client gateway 150 can preventunauthorized devices, such as hacker computers or stolen set-top boxdevices from accessing the private network 110, by denying access tothese devices beyond the access network 166.

For example, when the first representative set-top box device 116accesses the client-facing tier 102 via the access network 166, theclient gateway 150 can verify subscriber information by communicatingwith the subscriber and system store 148 via the private network 110.Further, the client gateway 150 can verify billing information andstatus by communicating with the OSS/BSS gateway 144 via the privatenetwork 110. In one embodiment, the OSS/BSS gateway 144 can transmit aquery via the public network 112 to the OSS/BSS server 164. After theclient gateway 150 confirms subscriber and/or billing information, theclient gateway 150 can allow the set-top box device 116 to access IPTVcontent and VOD content at the client-facing tier 102. If the clientgateway 150 cannot verify subscriber information for the set-top boxdevice 116, e.g., because it is connected to an unauthorized twistedpair, the client gateway 150 can block transmissions to and from theset-top box device 116 beyond the access network 166.

As indicated in FIG. 1, the acquisition tier 106 includes an acquisitiontier (AQT) switch 152 that communicates with the private network 110.The AQT switch 152 can also communicate with the operations andmanagement tier 108 via the public network 112. In a particularembodiment, the AQT switch 152 can be coupled to a live acquisitionserver 154 that receives or acquires television content, movie content,advertisement content, other video content, or any combination thereof,from a broadcast service 156, such as a satellite acquisition system orsatellite head-end office. In a particular embodiment, the liveacquisition server 154 can transmit content to the AQT switch 152, andthe AQT switch 152 can transmit the content to the CFT switch 130 viathe private network 110.

In an illustrative embodiment, content can be transmitted to theD-servers 132, where it can be encoded, formatted, stored, replicated,or otherwise manipulated and prepared for communication to the set-topbox devices 116, 124. The CFT switch 130 can receive content andcommunicate the content to the CPE 114, 122 via the access network 166.The set-top box devices 116, 124 can receive the content via the CPE114, 122, and can transmit the content to the television monitors 118,126. In an illustrative embodiment, video or audio portions of thecontent can be streamed to the set-top box devices 116, 124.

Further, the AQT switch 152 can be coupled to a video-on-demand importerserver 158 that receives and stores television or movie content receivedat the acquisition tier 106 and communicates the stored content to theVOD server 136 at the client-facing tier 102 via the private network110. Additionally, at the acquisition tier 106, the video-on-demand(VOD) importer server 158 can receive content from one or more VODsources outside the IPTV system 100, such as movie studios andprogrammers of non-live content. The VOD importer server 158 cantransmit the VOD content to the AQT switch 152, and the AQT switch 152,in turn, can communicate the material to the CFT switch 130 via theprivate network 110. The VOD content can be stored at one or moreservers, such as the VOD server 136.

When users issue requests for VOD content via the set-top box devices116, 124, the requests can be transmitted over the access network 166 tothe VOD server 136, via the CFT switch 130. Upon receiving suchrequests, the VOD server 136 can retrieve the requested VOD content andtransmit the content to the set-top box devices 116,124 across theaccess network 166, via the CFT switch 130. The set-top box devices 116,124 can transmit the VOD content to the television monitors 118, 126. Inan illustrative embodiment, video or audio portions of VOD content canbe streamed to the set-top box devices 116, 124.

FIG. 1 further illustrates that the operations and management tier 108can include an operations and management tier (OMT) switch 160 thatconducts communication between the operations and management tier 108and the public network 112. In the embodiment illustrated by FIG. 1, theOMT switch 160 is coupled to a TV2 server 162. Additionally, the OMTswitch 160 can be coupled to an OSS/BSS server 164 and to a simplenetwork management protocol (SNMP) monitor 186 that monitors networkdevices within or coupled to the IPTV system 100. In a particularembodiment, the OMT switch 160 can communicate with the AQT switch 152via the public network 112.

In an illustrative embodiment, the live acquisition server 154 cantransmit content to the AQT switch 152, and the AQT switch 152, in turn,can transmit the content to the OMT switch 160 via the public network112. In this embodiment, the OMT switch 160 can transmit the content tothe TV2 server 162 for display to users accessing the user interface atthe TV2 server 162. For example, a user can access the TV2 server 162using a personal computer (PC) 168 coupled to the public network 112.

Referring to FIG. 2, an embodiment of a system that includes arepresentative set-top box is depicted and generally designated 200. Thesystem 200 includes an internet protocol television (IPTV) accessnetwork 201 in communication with a terminal server 260 and further incommunication with an application server 264. A set-top box 202 is shownin communication with the IPTV access network 201 via network accesscustomer premise equipment (CPE) 228.

The set-top box 202 includes a display interface 210 to communicate witha display device such as a television monitor 212. The set-top box 202also includes a computer interface 214 to communicate with a computer250. A remote interface 216 enables the set-top box to wirelesslycommunicate with a remote control device 230. A network interface 208enables the set-top box 202 to communicate with a source of content,depicted in FIG. 2 as the IPTV access network 201.

A set-top box processor 204 is coupled to each of the display interface210, the network interface 208, the computer interface 214, and theremote interface 216. The processor 204 is also coupled to a memorydevice 206 and a digital video recorder (DVR) 223. The set-top box 202also includes a user ID module 218 for identifying a user of the set-topbox 202 and a video content control and buffer module 219 to receivevideo content from the source of content via the network interface 208.The set-top box 202 further includes a coder-decoder module (codec) 220for decoding video content received from the source of content, such asIPTV access network 201, for display on the display device 212.

In an embodiment, the set-top box 202 includes an interactiveapplication module 221. The interactive application module 221 canprovide an indication of available interactive applications via thedisplay interface 210 in response to receiving a user request. As anexample, a user of the display device 212 may desire to view availableinteractive applications. The user may request an indication of theavailable interactive applications by pressing a button on the remotecontrol device 230.

In a particular embodiment, the interactive application module 221 maysend a request for an identification of an available interactiveapplication associated with the video content to the source of content,such as the IPTV access network 201, in response to receiving the userrequest. The IPTV access network 201 may respond by sending to theset-top box 202 data identifying interactive applications available viathe IPTV access network 201. As an illustrative example, the IPTV accessnetwork may respond by providing data identifying an interactiveapplication 262 located at the terminal server 260 and data identifyingan interactive application 266 located at the application server 264, orboth.

Interactive applications may also be located at other locations of thesystem 200. For example, in a particular embodiment, the DVR 223 maystore one or more interactive applications 224. In another particularembodiment, a default interactive application 222 may be stored at theset-top box 202. An availability of the default interactive application222 may be independent of the video content received from the source ofcontent, such as IPTV access network 201.

In operation, a user of the set-top box 202 may desire to view availableinteractive applications related to the video content displayed on thetelevision monitor 212. For example, a user of the set-top box 202watching a football game may desire to view interactive content relatedto the football game, the television channel associated with thefootball game, or the television system generally. The user may requesta listing of available interactive applications by pressing aninteractive button on the remote control 230.

In response to the set-top box 202 receiving the user request for anindication of available interactive applications, the interactiveapplication module 221 may send a request for available interactivecontent via the network interface 208 to the IPTV access network 201.The request may identify, for example, the set-top box 202, the user, orthe video content such as the television program or the televisionchannel, or any combination thereof.

In an embodiment, the request sent by the set-top box 202 may be sent toa single location of the IPTV system to execute an application thatpolls all applicable locations of the IPTV system for availableinteractive applications. In another embodiment, the request sent by theset-top box 202 may instead indicate each location of the IPTV system tobe polled for available interactive content. Examples of applicablelocations of an IPTV system that may be polled for interactiveapplications include terminal servers such as terminal servers 134 ofFIG. 1, application servers 142, VOD severs 136, other servers orcomputers connected to the IPTV system 100, such as computer 168, or anycombination thereof. The interactive application module 221 may alsoquery other locations of system 200, such as the DVR 223 and the memorydevice 206 of the set-top box 202 for further interactive applicationsthat may be stored locally, such as default interactive application 222.

After receiving a first result from the request to the IPTV accessnetwork 201, and a second result from the search conducted of the localmemory devices 206 and the DVR 223 of the set-top box 202, theinteractive application module 221 may provide a selectable menuindicating the available interactive applications that were located todisplay on the television monitor 212. A user of the television monitor212 and remote control 230 may select one of the interactiveapplications to be executed from the selectable menu. The availableinteractive applications may be indicated on the selectable menu by anapplication name, a description, an icon, or the like, or anycombination thereof. The indications used for the available interactiveapplication may be provided to the interactive application module 221 asa response to the query, or may be retrieved from various source of theIPTV access network 201, or may be stored locally in the memory device206, or any combination thereof.

In a particular embodiment, when the default interactive application 222is the only interactive application that is available, a menu ofavailable interactive applications showing only the default interactiveapplication may not be displayed on the television monitor 212. Instead,the processor 204 of the set-top box 202 may execute the defaultinteractive application 222 in response to the user request.

In another particular embodiment, the interactive application module 221may be further operable to update an indication of the defaultinteractive application 222 when a replacement default interactiveapplication (not shown) is received from the IPTV access network 201.For example, the IPTV access network 201 may periodically replace theavailable default interactive applications at customer set-top boxessuch as the set-top box 202. Thus, a replacement default interactiveapplication my be received by the set-top box 202 via the networkinterface 208 from the IPTV access network 201 and stored in the memorydevice 206.

In a particular embodiment, the replacement default interactiveapplication may overwrite the previous default interactive applicationstored in memory device 206. The interactive application module 221 mayupdate the indication of the available default interactive application222 when the replacement default interactive application is received.The updated indication of the replacement interactive application maytherefore be displayed when the user requests to view availableinteractive applications.

In another particular embodiment, the replacement default interactiveapplication received from the IPTV access network 201 may reside inmemory device 206 in addition to the prior default interactiveapplication. The interactive application module 221 may thereforeprovide an indication of each of the prior default interactiveapplication and the replacement default interactive application to auser of the set-top box 202 when the user requests to view availableinteractive applications.

Referring to FIG. 3, a particular embodiment of a method is depicted.Generally, the method includes receiving a video signal from a firstsource of the television system where the video signal includes videocontent but does not include data relating to an interactiveapplication, providing the video content to a display device, andretrieving an interactive application from a second source of thetelevision system.

In the particular embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, the method begins atblock 300 with receiving a video signal from a first source of atelevision system, where the video signal includes video content butdoes not include data relating to an interactive application. The methodcontinues at 302, with providing the video content to a display device,and receiving a first request from a user of the display device for anindication of available interactive applications relating to the videocontent at 304. Continuing at 306, a second request is sent to thetelevision system for an identification of available interactiveapplications related to at least one of the television program includedin the video content and the channel associated with the televisionprogram, in response to receiving the first request. At 308, a firstidentification is received of a first available interactive applicationfrom the television system in response to the second request. At 310, asecond identification is received of a second available interactiveapplication retrievable from a local memory device in response to thefirst request.

At 312, a first indication is provided of the first availableinteractive application and a second indication of the second availableinteractive application to the display device concurrently with thevideo content. A selection of one of the first available interactiveapplication and the second available interactive applications isreceived from the user at 314, and the selected interactive applicationis retrieved from a second source of the television system at 316. Theselected interactive application is executed at 318.

As a particular, non-limiting example, the method depicted in FIG. 3 maybe performed by a set-top box such as the set-top box 116 incommunication with the IPTV system 100 of FIG. 1. A user of the set-topbox 116 may be authorized to access some interactive applications butnot others, as may be determined by the OSS/BSS server 164. The firstindication of the first available application received at 308 maytherefore be sent only when the user is authorized to access theapplication. As another example, a selected interactive application maybe associated with a television channel. The OSS/BSS server 164 maycontrol a user's access to some interactive applications by modifying achannel map associated with the user. An interactive applicationselected by the user may therefore be retrieved at 316 by the set-topbox requesting content associated with the television channel from theIPTV system.

In an embodiment, the indication of the first available interactiveapplication and the second available interactive application may beprovided to the display device to be displayed in a prioritized menu at312. In a particular embodiment, the first available interactiveapplication is associated with the television program, and the secondavailable interactive application is not associated with the televisionprogram. A priority of the first available interactive application maythus be determined to be higher than a priority of the second availableinteractive application. The indication of the first availableinteractive application may therefore be displayed above the indicationof the second available interactive application in the prioritized menuaccording to the determined priority.

Referring to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a user interface 406 is depicteddisplayed on a display device such as a television monitor 404 coupledto a set-top box 402. The user interface 406 includes a first displayregion 408 to display video content received from a television systemvia a television channel. The user interface 406 also includes a seconddisplay region 410 to display a prioritized menu 412 of availableinteractive applications. The available interactive applications areidentified by menu items 414, 415, 416, 417.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, the video content displayed in thefirst display region 408 is the television program The Sopranosassociated with the television channel HBO, and each availableinteractive application identified by the menu items 414, 415, 416, 417relates to one of the television program, the television channel, or thetelevision system generally. For example, the first menu item 414 of theprioritized menu 412 indicates an interactive application that providesa viewer with an ability to vote for a possible outcome of thetelevision program. The second menu item 415 indicates an availableinteractive application that provides a user of the user interface 408with the ability to listen to interactive music associated with thetelevision program. The third menu item 416 indicates an availableinteractive application that is related to the television channelproviding the television program. The fourth menu item 417 indicates aninteractive application that is not specifically associated with thetelevision program or the television channel but is generally associatedwith the television system.

In an embodiment, at least one interactive application indicated by theprioritized menu 412 is a default application. For example, the fourthmenu item 417 may indicate that a default interactive application isavailable and may be displayed with the lowest priority of the availableinteractive applications. The default interactive application, such asthe interactive application indicated by the fourth menu item 417, maybe available while a first television program received via a firsttelevision channel is displayed in the first display region 408 and mayalso be available when a second television program received via a secondtelevision channel is displayed in the first display region 408. Thus,the default interactive application may be displayed persistently on theuser interface 406, independent of the television program or thetelevision channel associated with the video content.

In a particular embodiment, a priority of at least a first availableinteractive application indicated by the prioritized menu 412 may bedetermined in accordance with an association of the first availableinteractive application with the television program. In anotherembodiment, a priority of at least a second interactive application ofthe prioritized menu 412 may be determined in accordance with anassociation of the second available interactive application with thetelevision channel. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 4, theinteractive application having the highest priority, indicated by thefirst menu item 414, is associated with the television show displayed onthe user interface in the first display region 408. The interactiveapplication having the second highest priority, indicated by the secondmenu item 415, is also associated with the television program. Theinteractive application having the third highest priority, indicated bythe third menu item 416, is associated with the television channel, andthe fourth interactive application, indicated by the fourth menu item417, is associated with neither the television program nor the channel.

However, in a particular embodiment, a priority of one or more of theavailable interactive applications may be determined through othermechanisms. As an illustrative, non-limiting example, a priority of afirst available interactive application may be determined by a firstsource of the television system such as the set-top box 402. In anotherillustrative, non-limiting example, a priority of a second applicationis determined by a second source of the television system providing thetelevision program, such as by a source within an internet protocoltelevision (IPTV) system.

Referring to FIG. 5, an illustrative embodiment of a general computersystem is shown and is designated 500. The computer system 500 caninclude a set of instructions that can be executed to cause the computersystem 500 to perform any one or more of the methods or computer basedfunctions disclosed herein. The computer system 500, or any portionthereof, may operate as a standalone device, such as the set-top boxdevices and domain controller shown in FIG. 1, or may be connected,e.g., using a public network or a private network within an IPTV system,to other computer systems or peripheral devices.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The computer system 500 can alsobe implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wirelesstelephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner,a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, aweb appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machinecapable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise)that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particularembodiment, the computer system 500 can be implemented using electronicdevices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, whilea single computer system 500 is illustrated, the term “system” shallalso be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems thatindividually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructionsto perform one or more computer functions.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the computer system 500 may include aprocessor 502, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), or both. Moreover, the computer system 500 caninclude a main memory 504 and a static memory 506 that can communicatewith each other via a bus 508. As shown, the computer system 500 mayfurther include a video display unit 510, such as a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a flat paneldisplay, a solid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT).Additionally, the computer system 500 may include an input device 512,such as a keyboard, and a cursor control device 514, such as a mouse.Further, the computer system 500 can include a wireless input device515, e.g., a remote control device. When the computer system 500, or anyportion thereof, is embodied in a set-top box device, the cursor controldevice 514 can be a remote control device. The computer system 500 canalso include a disk drive unit 516, a signal generation device 518, suchas a speaker or remote control, and a network interface device 520.

In a particular embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 5, the disk drive unit516 may include a computer-readable medium 522 in which one or more setsof instructions 524, e.g. software, can be embedded. Further, theinstructions 524 may embody one or more of the methods or logic asdescribed herein. In a particular embodiment, the instructions 524 mayreside completely, or at least partially, within the main memory 504,the static memory 506, and/or within the processor 502 during executionby the computer system 500. The main memory 504 and the processor 502also may include computer-readable media.

In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, suchas application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or moreof the methods described herein. Applications that may include theapparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include avariety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodimentsdescribed herein may implement functions using two or more specificinterconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and datasignals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or asportions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, thepresent system encompasses software, firmware, and hardwareimplementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein may be implemented by software programsexecutable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limitedembodiment, implementations can include distributed processing,component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing.Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed toimplement one or more of the methods or functionality as describedherein.

The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium thatincludes instructions 524 or receives and executes instructions 524responsive to a propagated signal, so that a device connected to anetwork 526 can communicate voice, video or data over the network 526.Further, the instructions 524 may be transmitted or received over thenetwork 526 via the network interface device 520.

While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, theterm “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiplemedia, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associatedcaches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term“computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution bya processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or moreof the methods or operations disclosed herein.

In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, thecomputer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as amemory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatileread-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be arandom access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally,the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capturecarrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmissionmedium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives may be considered a distributionmedium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of acomputer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalentsand successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.

In conjunction with the configuration of structure described herein, thesystem and method disclosed may determine available interactiveapplications from a source of video content such as an IPTV system. Aselectable menu of indicators may be provided via a display device for auser selection.

In accordance with various embodiments, the methods described herein maybe implemented as one or more software programs running on a computerprocessor. Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limitedto, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arraysand other hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Furthermore, alternative softwareimplementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

It should also be noted that software that implements the disclosedmethods may optionally be stored on a tangible storage medium, such as:a magnetic medium, such as a disk or tape; a magneto-optical or opticalmedium, such as a disk; or a solid state medium, such as a memory cardor other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories. The software may also utilize a signal containing computerinstructions. A digital file attachment to e-mail or otherself-contained information archive or set of archives is considered adistribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium.Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storagemedium or distribution medium as listed herein, and other equivalentsand successor media, in which the software implementations herein may bestored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsthat may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference toparticular standards and protocols, the invention is not limited to suchstandards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and otherpacket switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP)represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards areperiodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents havingessentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards andprotocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed hereinare considered equivalents thereof.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may notbe drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may beexaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, thedisclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative ratherthan restrictive.

One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein,individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely forconvenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of thisapplication to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover,although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may begrouped together or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus,the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimedsubject matter.

The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximumextent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to bedetermined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the followingclaims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited bythe foregoing detailed description.

1. A method comprising: sending video content retrieved at a set-top boxfrom a first source of a television system to a display device;receiving a first request at the set-top box for interactive content;sending a second request from the set-top box to at least one secondsource of the television system for identification of availableinteractive applications related to the video content in response to thefirst request, wherein the second request indicates one or morelocations within the television system to be polled for the availableinteractive applications, and wherein access to the availableinteractive applications is authorized based on a user accountassociated with the television system; and sending a prioritized menufrom the set-top box to the display device concurrently with the videocontent when one or more identifications of the available interactiveapplications related to the video content are received in response tothe second request, wherein the prioritized menu includes a selectablemenu item associated with the one or more identifications of theavailable interactive applications related to the video content receivedin response to the second request and an additional selectable menu itemassociated with a default interactive application retrieved from theset-top box, and wherein selectable menu items associated with the oneor more identifications of the available interactive applicationsrelated to the video content have a first priority and are displayed inthe prioritized menu in a position indicative of a higher priority thana position of the additional selectable menu item.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the television system is an Internet protocoltelevision system.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the video contentincludes a television program associated with a television channel. 4.The method of claim 1, further comprising executing the defaultinteractive application when no response to the second request isreceived.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the user account isidentified based on set-top box data included with the request.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the one or more locations within thetelevision system include at least one of a terminal server, anapplication server, and a video-on-demand server.
 7. The method of claim1, further comprising: receiving at the set-top box a selection of atleast one of the selectable menu items and the additional selectablemenu item from a user of the set-top box; and executing one or moreinteractive applications corresponding to the selection.
 8. The methodof claim 3, wherein a first selectable menu item corresponds to a firstidentification of a first available interactive application received inresponse to the second request and is associated with the video content,wherein a second selectable menu item corresponds to a secondidentification of a second available interactive application received inresponse to the second request and is associated with the televisionchannel, and wherein the first selectable menu item is displayed in aposition indicative of higher priority in the prioritized menu ascompared to a position in the prioritized menu of the second selectablemenu item.
 9. A set top box device, comprising: a memory deviceaccessible to a processor; a network interface to communicate with asource of content from a distribution network of a television system; abuffer to receive video content from the source of content via thenetwork interface; and an interactive application module operable to:send a request to the distribution network, the request indicating oneor more locations of the distribution network to be polled for a firstavailable interactive application; generate a prioritized menu includingavailable interactive applications, the prioritized menu generated inresponse to receipt of a result identifying the first availableinteractive application located within the distribution network, whereinthe prioritized menu includes a selectable menu item for each of theavailable interactive applications and for at least one defaultinteractive application retrieved from the memory device, and whereinaccess to the available interactive applications is authorized based ona user account associated with the television system; and send to adisplay device the prioritized menu and the video content concurrentlyin response to a user request for interactive content, wherein theavailable interactive applications related to the video content have afirst priority and are displayed first in the prioritized menu.
 10. Theset top box device of claim 9, wherein the user account is identifiedbased on set top box data included with the request.
 11. The set top boxdevice of claim 9, wherein the interactive application module is furtheroperable to retrieve a second available interactive application byperforming a search of the memory device, and wherein the firstavailable interactive application is distinct from the second availableinteractive application.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdisplaying the default interactive application as the prioritized menuwhen no response to the second request is received.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the video content comprises a television program, andwherein a first interactive application provides a viewer with anability to vote for a possible outcome of the television program. 14.The method of claim 1, wherein selectable menu items associated withidentifications of the available interactive applications associatedwith the video content have a highest priority in the prioritized menu,and wherein selectable menu items associated with identifications of theavailable interactive applications related to a television channelproviding the video content have a second priority that is less than thehighest priority and are displayed below the selectable menu items withthe highest priority in the prioritized menu.
 15. The method of claim14, wherein the additional selectable menu item associated with thedefault interactive application has a third priority that is less thanthe second priority and is displayed last in the prioritized menu. 16.The method of claim 1, wherein the default interactive application isindependent of the video content from the first source.
 17. The set topbox device of claim 9, wherein the interactive application module isfurther operable to send to the display device an indication of areplacement default interactive application that replaces the at leastone default interactive application.
 18. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium comprising operational instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to execute a methodcomprising: sending video content retrieved at a set-top box from afirst source of a television system to a display device; receiving afirst request at the set-top box for interactive content; sending asecond request from the set-top box to the television system foridentification of available interactive applications related to thevideo content in response to the first request, wherein the secondrequest indicates one or more locations within the television system tobe polled for the available interactive applications; and sending aprioritized menu from the set-top box to the display device concurrentlywith the video content when one or more identifications of the availableinteractive applications related to the video content are received inresponse to the second request, wherein the prioritized menu includes aselectable menu item associated with the one or more identifications ofthe available interactive applications related to the video contentreceived in response to the second request and an additional selectablemenu item associated with a default interactive application retrievedfrom the set-top box, and wherein selectable menu items associated withthe one or more identifications of the available interactiveapplications related to the video content have a first priority and aredisplayed in the prioritized menu in a position indicative of a higherpriority than a position of the additional selectable menu item.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein a priorityof a first available interactive application is determined by the firstsource of the television system.
 20. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the television system isan internet protocol television system.
 21. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein a priority of a secondavailable interactive application is determined by a second source ofthe television system, wherein the second source is distinct from thefirst source.
 22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim18, wherein one or more of the available interactive applicationsassociated with the prioritized menu provides a user with an ability tolisten to interactive music associated with the video content.